Facebook Groups: aka Chaotic Conversation

Facebook has replaced the need for most reunion planning companies, yet it seems to be undermining the efforts of reunion planning via their incredibly user-UNfriendly group pages.

Do you ever get frustrated with the way topics and thoughts can get lost in the new Facebook group format? Photos and comments keep bouncing up and down the page as people look at each post. It is great that people are so passionate about expressing their thoughts and they should not be prevented from doing so, but the irony is that the end result is people aren’t being heard.

Here is my quandary:

Camp Reunion right around the corner.

I am trying to use our Facebook group page to direct attention to the reunion blog but it has been a struggle.

No old camp rosters!

No budget!

I am looking for people….for a reunion that is in less than four months….without names! I need the people who KNOW the names to send them the blog but I have to get THEIR attention first. The reunion blog is how I am going to compile the camp roster for future reunions.

The last couple of days, I have tried to gain the attention of the administrator for the camp Facebook page by putting a post out there. I want to put the blog reunion link in the description on the group page so people will see it right away. Well, my attempt got lost because people kept commenting on other posts!

Again, chaotic conversation on Facebook provides levity in life and we all need that! It is a blast to see old pictures and talk about old times. We don’t want the chaotic conversation to stop.In fact, we have a reunion coming up where you can do that in person and the message can’t be heard because it keeps getting pushed down the page!

It is very possible that people are commenting, “I wish we would have a reunion!” They don’t even know about the reunion because when these people visit the page, they see a bunch of threads above the reunion chatter! Again, don’t what the chatter to stop but the focus needs to be on getting the data for the camp roster which can only be done through the reunion blog.

I keep placing my blog link on various posts as subliminal promotion because I am not really sure what else I can do. There is the added frustration of knowing that we have almost 200 people in our group page but not everyone checks the activity on that page often and time is precious.

I do enjoy event planning, building the actual event and watching the excitement develop throughout the process. Not to mention the new friends I make and old friends that come back into my life.

Facebook should make the group pages more user-friendly for people planning reunions. Am I wrong? Any suggestions?